Fire-extinguisher



E. R.BRODTON.

rme EXTINGU I SHER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2.1915.

1,31 5,279. Patented Sept. 9,1919.

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E. R. BRODTON.

- FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-2. I915.

Patented Sept. 9,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- earns PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD n. BRODTON, or WA$HINGT01\T, DIsTRIOroF COLUMBIA, A$SIGNQR, BYMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, r0 SYPHO-GHEMIGAL SPRINKLER CORPORATION, OF NEWYIORK,

N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

FIRE-EXTINGUISI-IER.

Application filed November 2, 1915. Serial No. 59,263.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD BRODTON, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Washington, District of Columbia, have invented a certainnew and useful Improvement in Fire-Extinguishers, and do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to lire extinguishers, and in certain o1. itsfeatures relates more particularly to automatic sprinkler systems, andin this relation my object primarily is to provide a construction inwhich, under some conditions, a chemical extinguisher will be emittedfrom the open sprinkler head to the lire, and under other conditions,which render the use of a chemical objectionable, or undesirable,another kind of extinguisher, such as water, will be emitted as theextinguishing liquid. Other objects of my invention and advantages ofthe construction that I have invented will appear when the constructionand operation of the apparatus that I show in the drawings isunderstood.

In the'accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a view somewhat diagrammaticof a system embodying one form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of another embodiment thereof;

Fig. 3 is a detail view, partly in section of a form of apparatus that Ihave invented for automatically generating, or causing to be generated,the pressure required for expelling the extinguishing liquid;

Fig. l is a detail view in section of a form ot' check valve used in thesystem in the pipe or connection between the two extinguisher holdingtanks;

Fig. 5 is a detail View of a valve form device that is adapted to causethe Operation of an alarm upon the opening of a sprinkler head;

Fig. 6 is a detail view showing the cartridge form of the pressureroducingreagents.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Fig. 1, I show twoextinguisher supply pipes, one designated A connected with and leadingfrom a tank or holder 10 containing a supply of some form of chemicalextinguisher, such as carbon tetra chlorid, and the other pipe B beingconnected with and leading from a suitable source of supply of adifferent kind of extinguishing fluid, either water, or carbonic acid,such source of sup ply, as shown, being a holder, or tank 11.

From the pipe A, a suitable number of branch pipes 12 providedwithautomatically opening sprinkler heads 13 lead to those places where itisdesired to use chemical extinguisher in the form of say, carbon tetrachlorid, while from the pipe B the desired number of distributing pipes14 provided with automatic sprinkler. heads 15 run to those parts of thebuilding, or structure .to be protected, where water, 01' some otherextinguisher than carbon tetra chlorid is to be used. All the pipes,including the pipes having the sprinkler heads, are filled with theextinguishing fluid, and the latter is kept under a pressuretending tocause its etllux upon the opening of a sprinkler head for which purposethe pipes A and B are connected with an overhead, or gravity tank 16,each of the pipes A and B, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings,being extended beyond its distributing pipe 12, or let, to connect withthetank 16, and the pipe A having a check valve 1 7 betweenitsdistributing pipe,or-pipes 12, and the tank 16, while the pipe B has acheck valve 18between its distributing pipe 14 and the pressure tank 16,which check valves open under pressure "from the tank 16, but closeunder pressure acting toward the tank 16. It will be seen that upon theopening of a sprinkler head, or other means of discharge ofextinguishing fluid from either the pipe A, or .the pipe B, the level ofthe liquid in the tank 16 will fall because of the etllux of liquid fromthe open sprinkler head, or other means ofdischarge, and I utilize the.dropping of the level of the liquid in the tank 16 to produceautomatically the creation, or calling into action of the desiredpressure for forcing the extinguishing fluid, whether cheniical orwater, to and out of the open sprinkler head.

The tank 11, besides holding water, or some chemical other than the kindin tank 10, is made to serve as the receptacle in which the expellingpressure is generated. For this purpose I place andsupportwithin it acup 19 which may be conveniently suspended from a hollow neck, or flange20 depending froin the cover 21, which closes the tank 11, and withinthe cup 19 is placed a i can or holder 22 that contains amaterial 23,"

Patented se tuaieie.

which, upon contact with water 24 in the cup 19 results in the promptevolution of a great volume of oxygen which escapes as fast as it isevolved through a hole 25 in the side of the neck 20 that communicateswith the upper part of the tank 11 and subjects the Water or otherliquid in the tank 11 to an expelling pressure which forces it throughthe pipe B and thence to any open s rlnkler head in the distributin pipe14. T 1e material I employ for t e evolution of the oxygen, is sodiumperoxid. Of course, the expelling pressure may be produced otherwisethan by the use of this particular material, as, for example, by theuse'of the well known sulfuric acid and bicarbonate of soda.

Pressure from the tank 11 is delivered to the extinguisher-holding tank10 by a pipe 26 that runs from the top of the tank 11 to the top of thetank 10, a check device 27 having the construction shown in detail inFig. 4, being interposed between the two tanks for the purpose ofpreventing under normal conditions the coming together of carbon tetra.chlorid in the tank 10 and aqueous vapor from the water in the tank 11,which might result in the evolution of gas that would be injurious totheapparatus. Said cheek device 27 is in the nature of a trap, as shownin Fig. 4, it having a depending chamber 28 into which projects apartial wall, or partition 29 that reaches close to the bottom of thechamber '28, dipping at its lower end into a volume of mercury 30, whichconstitutes a seal that prevents communication on opposite sides of thepartition 29. Under conditions of pressure in the tank 11, the mercurywill be dis placed and allow the pressure to enter and accumulate in thetop of the tank 10 ready to be restored back through the pipe 26 to thetank 11, when the pressure in the latter falls below that in the tank10, as when one of the sprinkler heads 15 is open and a discharge fromit is taking place While all the sprinkler heads 13 in the distributingpipe 12 remain closed. Any pressure in the tank 10 tending to forceliquid up through the pipe A, will be opposed by the check valve 17Within the tank 16 is a float 31 carried by an arm 32 pivoted to theinner side of the tank, and, which, of course, moves verticallyaccording to the level of the liquid in the tank 16. The float arm 32 isconnected by a section of chain 33, or other flexible agent, and a rod34 with one end of a lever 35 whose other end is connected, as by achain 36 with a trigger 37 which normally engages and locks frommovement a trip lever 38 from which is suspended a weight 39, which,upon the operation of the trigger 37 and the consequent release of thetrip 38, descends, and through a lever 40,

with which it is connected and which has a gear segment 41 revolves avertical shaft 42, the shaft 42 having a bevel pinion 43 which mesheswith the gear segment 41. The shaft 42 passes through a hole in the tankcover 21 into the cup 19, and it has a threaded portion 44 which engagesa thread 45 in the cover hole through which it passes so that by therevolution of the shaft 42 consequent upon the descent of the weight 39,the shaft 42 will descend. At its lower end the shaft 42 has a head 46'adapted to engage a plug 47 in the top of the container 23, and forcesthe same downward thus opening the otherwise closed top, and thepressure transmitted through the body of material 23 is transmitted to aplug 48 in the bottom of said can, or container 22, and said plug 48 isexpelled so that commingling of the water in the cup 19 and the reagentin the can 22 may take place. The can 22 is supported sufficiently abovethe bottom of the cup 19 as to allow the expulsion of the bottom closingplug 48. Since the shaft 42 descends, as it revolves, the gear segment41, has a spiral form so that it continues in mesh with the pinionnotwithstanding changes in the vertical position of the latter due tovertical movement of the shaft 42. Asuitable packing 49is provided aboveand below the threaded portion 44 of the shaf 42 so as to assume afluid-tight joint. The chain, or flexible connection is provided betweenthe float 31 and the trigger operating lever 35 so that no movement ofthe trigger will take place in consequence of such fluctuation of levelof the liquid in the tank 16 as may take place from evaporation, orexpansion, and it is only when a considerable fall in the level of theliquid .akes place, as when a sprinkler head opens,

.that the descent of the float 31 results in the rocking of the lever 35to release the trigger 37. The tank 16 is preferably closed by a coverto prevent evaporation, and a valve inlet 50 is provided in the cover toallow the ingress of air on the fall of the level of the liquid in thetank. The tank 16 in its horizontal dimensions is wide so that it is ashallow tank in order that any changes of 'volume of liquid in the tankand the pipes connected therewith may result in but little change in thelevel of the liquid in the tank 16, not enough to cause the automaticoperation of the apparatus. If desired, as shown in Fig. 3, an air dome,or reservoir 51 may be provided that is connected by a pipe 52 with theinterior of the tank 16 and having within the latter a normally closedvalve 53, which, upon the descent of the float 31 to a predeterminedpoint will be opened by the downward movement of the lever 54 connectedwith the valve and thereby air permitted to flow from the dome 51 intothe tank 16 to supplement the action of gravitv in forcing the liquidthrough the tank 16. i

In the form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 2, provision is made forthe simu1tane ous delivery of the two different kinds of extinguishers,for example, carbon tetra chlorid and water at certain points in thesystem.

The apparatus is identical with that shown in Fig. 1, excepting thatinstead of having disconnected distributing pipes 12 and let they areconnected, but with a check valve 55 interposed in the pipe between theseries of sprinkler heads designated 15 and the series of sprinklerheads designated 13, and in this case the tank 11 contains the carbontetra chlorid while the tank 10 contains water. Upon the opening of oneof the sprinkler heads 15, it will be seen that the operation of thepressure-producing means in the tank 11, will be started and carbontetra chloricl expelled from the open sprinkler head 15, and it later,or at the same time one of the sprinkler heads 13 opens, then water willbe, forced therefrom and the carbon tetrachlorid will pass through thecheck valve 55 to the sprinkler head 13. which is issuing water so thatsimultaneously water and carbon tetra chlorid will be applied to thefire, the carbon tetra: chlorid acting primarily as an extinguisher andthe water-serving to Wet down the embers, and the surroundings andprevent the fire starting up again. When only the sprinkler heads 15 areopened no water is discharged at any point because the check valve 55prevents Water flowing into the distribut ing pipe 14 which contains thesprinkler heads 15.

The flow of liquid through the distributing pipes to the sprinkler headsoccurring upon the outbreak of the fire may be utilized to sound analarm automatically, and for this purpose a valve 56 having theconstruction shown in Fig. 5 may be applied to the distributing pipes asindicated in Fig. 3. Said valve comprises a casing Within which ispivoted a flap, or valve 57 adapted to be swung off its seat 58 by theflow of liquid through the distributing pipe and through a sliding rod59 which passes from the interior of the valve casing to the outside isadapted to open a switch 60 in a normally closed circuit that includes abell, or other form of alarm. To prevent the operation of the alarm bysuch fluctuation in the volume of the liquid in the pipes, as may takeplace under ordinary, or normal conditions, and

assuring that it will operate onl when there is some sudden andextensive c ange in the volume, as upon the outbreak of a fire, theflap, or valve 57 has a small hole 61 through which there may be a flowof liquid to the opposite sides of the flap 57 without moving thelatter, and said hole 61 is adapted to be closing device of the alarmmechanism.

The cup 19 containing the can, or package of reagent, may be supplied inthe form of a cartridge, as shown'in Fig. 6, so that it may mostconveniently be placedwithin the pressure tank 11. All that is necessaryto do in providing for use, under these circumstances, is to place acap, or cover (i l on the threaded upper end of the cup 19, by which itis screwed to the neck 20 depending from the tank cover 21. Of course,this cover is removed at the time of placing of the cartridge in thetank and thrown away. The Water in the cup 19 is rendered non-freezingby a suitable proportion of alcohol. For supplying liquid to the tank16, when it is provided with a cover, the latter may be removed and thenreplaced, or a' filling nozzle of well-known description may beprovided.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is i 1. In fireextinguishing apparatus, the combination of a plurality of sources ofextinguishers of diii'erent kinds, a separate distributing systemconnected with each source, each distributing system having a normallyclosed discharge means that automatically opens under fire conditions, acommon means for supplying pressure to expel the extinguishers from allthe sources when their respective discharge means open, and automaticmeans to control the supply of pres-- sure connected in common with theseveral distributing systems and placed in condition to supply pressurewhen the normally closed discharge means of any one system opens.

2. As an improvement in fire extinguishing apparatus, the combination ofa holder for a chemical extinguisher, a distributing pipe leadingtherefrom provided with a sprinkler-head, that automatically opens underfire conditions, a second extinguisher holder, a distributing pipeleadinothere from and provided with a sprinkler-head that automaticallyopens under fire conditions, means for generating pressure, means forsupplying pressure from said generating means to one of said holders,means to trans mit pressure from one holder to another,- a normallyinactive device for causing the operation of the pressure generatingmeans, and automatic means connected with said device and with thedistributing pipes of said holders, whereby upon the opening of asprinkler head in any distributing pipe, said device will be actuated tocause the generation of pressure.

3. In rfire extinguishing.apparatus, the combination of a pluralityofmechanisms, each comprising a fire-extinguisher holder and aliquid-filled distributing pipe leading therefrom havino' normallyclosed automatically openable cischarge orifices that open under fireconditions, a common means for supplying pressure to expel the contentsof said holders into their respective distributing pipes, means fortransmitting pressure from one holder to another, and a single meansoperably in communication With the liquid in said pipes for controllingsaid pressure supplyingmeans, acting on the opening of any one of saiddischarge orifices.

4. In fire extinguishing apparatus, the combination of two sources ofsupply of fluid extinguishers of difierent kinds, a connection betweensuch sources of supply, including a trap having a liquid seal, and meansfor supplying pressure to the fluid in said sources of supply to expelthe fluid therefrom.

' 5. In fire extinguishing apparatus, the combination of a plurality ofsources of extinguishers of different kinds, a plurality of normallyclosed discharge means one connected With each source, means for thegen-V eration of pressure by the action of reagents, common to thevarious sources, means for transmitting pressure to all said sources atthe same time, and automatic means to control the action of the reagentsconnected Copies of this patent may be obtained for in common with thevarious discharge means, said auton'iatic meansacting upon the openingof any of said normally closed discharge means.

6. In a fire extinguishing apparatus, the combination of a plurality oftanks, a separate distributing pipe leading from each tank and providedwith sprinkler heads, means Within one of said tanks for the supply ofpressure to expel the contents thereof, means connecting the tanks totransmit pressure from one to another, and automatic means to controlsaid pressure-supplying means, in operative connection with each of thedistributing pipes and acting on the opening of any sprinkler head.

7. In fire extinguishing apparatus, the combination of a plurality oftanks each containing a. fire extinguishing fluid, a separatedistributing pipe leading from the lower part of each tank, a separatedischarge point for each distributing pipe, an aiuiomatically openablesprinkler head at each discharge point, means in one of said tanks forthe generation of pressure by the action of reagents, means wherebyreagents are brought together in said tank upon the opening of asprinkler head, and a pipe leading from the upper part of .one tank tothe upper part of another tank for the transmission of pressure from onetank to another for the expulsion of extingulshlng fluid.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

EDIVARD R. BRODTON.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington,D. .0.

